Busy, Numb, or Stuck? Your Coping Mechanisms Have a Backstory | NowShift August 12, 2025

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What if the habits you judge yourself for—the endless busyness, the scrolling to escape, the drinking to numb, the withdrawal from friends—aren’t flaws at all? What if they’re actually your nervous system’s way of keeping you alive?

In Episode 3 of the Trauma Symptoms Mini-Series, Dr. Abhimanyou Raathore, founder of the Antifragilient OS, dives into the behavioral side of trauma—twelve common coping patterns that often go unnoticed as trauma responses. From addiction and compulsive overwork to isolation, self-harm, and chronic procrastination, these behaviors are more than random habits. They’re survival strategies your system created to protect you from pain.

Instead of labelling them as “bad” or “lazy,” Dr. Raathore invites you to see these behaviors for what they are: protective parts—managers, firefighters, and exiles—that stepped in when you needed them most. This shift from judgment to curiosity can be the first step toward lasting change.

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Why can’t I stop doing this, even when I know better?”, this episode may hold your answer. Tune in and discover how understanding the origins of your behaviors can help you not just survive, but grow stronger through life’s challenges.

A podcast by Dr. Abhimanyou Raathore
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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Today is August 12th 2025.
My name is Dr Abhimanyu Rathoreand I am the founder of the
Anti-Fragilient Operating System.
Here's the anti-fragilienttransmission for the day.
So welcome back to our traumaseries, and today is episode 3

(00:24):
of our trauma symptomsmini-series.
Today we are going to go aheadand explore behavioral symptoms,
that is, the ways our actions,our habits and our coping
strategies can be shaped by pastexperiences, even when we are

(00:46):
not consciously aware of that.
So what are behavioral symptomsIn simple terms?
Let's understand them a littlebit better.
So trauma doesn't just shapehow you feel.
It also affects the things wedo, often without realizing it.
These behaviors can become waysof coping, protecting ourselves
or trying to feel and control.

(01:08):
So what are such behavioralsymptoms?
Let's look at them.
The first one is addiction.
You know.
Using alcohol, drugs, gaming,shopping, work, sex or anything
else in excess to numb pain orescape feelings.
You know that's a traumabehavioral symptom.

(01:31):
Second one is lack ofmotivation, struggling to start
tasks or pursue goals.
You know even things you oncecared about.
That's a behavioral symptom.
Then the third one is inabilityto slow down, keeping yourself
constantly busy so you don'thave to feel or think about
difficult things.
Fourth one is eating disorder.

(01:54):
You know using food, whether byrestricting, overeating or
purging, as a way to you knowcope with emotions or regain
control.
Then the fifth one isimpulsiveness or manic symptoms.
You know acting withoutthinking things through or
having bursts of energy andrisky behavior that don't feel

(02:17):
like you Right.
So, in other words, youunderstand that's actually you
blending with your parts.
Yeah, all of this is blendingwith your parts, basically.
So let's understand the sixthone, which is inability to
manifest.
So imagine this, friends, andunderstand this that you know

(02:47):
feeling blocked when it comes toturning dreams or plans into
reality, as something invisiblekeeps holding you back.
That is a behavioral symptom oftrauma.
Then seventh is self-harmintentionally hurting your body
as a way to express emotionalpain or regain a sense of
control.
Then eighth is sexualdifficulties you know struggling
with intimacy, desire or sexualfunctioning due to past pain or
fear.
Ninth is social anxiety youknow feeling intense fear or

(03:12):
discomfort in social situations,worrying about judgment or
reaction or rejection.
Then tenth is social isolationyou know pulling away from
friends, family or community,even when part of you longs for
that connection.
Then eleventh is thoughts ofsuicide you know feeling like

(03:38):
life is too heavy to carry orthat the pain will never end.
Twelfth is underemployment.
You know staying in jobs farbelow your skills or potential,
sometimes out of fear, lowself-worth or exhaustion.
So if you recognize any of thesebehaviors in yourself, remember
they are not random and theyare not your identity.

(04:00):
They are strategies yournervous system learned to help
you get through Okay andsomewhere contributed to your
parts being developed Right,whether it's managers,
firefighters or exiles.
In the next episode we willexplore cognitive symptoms.

(04:22):
That is how trauma caninfluence the way we think,
decide or see ourselves.
Do let me know what you thinkabout today's episode and share
it with people so that we havemore and more people who
understand themselves better,are more compassionate towards

(04:42):
their parts and are therefore onthe road to becoming
anti-fragilient.
Thank you so much.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Bye-bye.